Hong Kong
CNN
 — 

The world’s population is getting older in what the United Nations calls an “irreversible global trend,” driven by longer lives and smaller families.

The number of people aged 65 and older is expected to more than double to 1.6 billion globally by 2050, according to a UN report published last year.

In Japan, this change is threatening one of the world’s largest economies as the percentage of older people grows and fewer couples have children.

In early June, the country said the number of babies born fell for the eighth straight year, hitting a record low of 727,277…